Talor Gooch hits back over Masters claim with fiery response to Dan Rapaport

Talor Gooch takes to Twitter to clarify his Rory McIlroy Masters comments.

27 Feb 2024

Talor Gooch hits back over Masters claim with fiery response to Dan Rapaport — Talor Gooch hits back over Masters claim with fiery response to Dan…

Talor Gooch has hit back over his latest Masters claim surrounding Rory McIlroy in a fiery response to Barstool Sports reporter Dan Rapaport on Twitter.

The three-time LIV Golf winner told Australian Golf Digest earlier today that should Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam in April, then the major needs an asterisk next to it.

Gooch, 32, told the publication:

"If Rory McIlroy goes and completes his [career] grand slam without some of the best players in the world, there's just going to be an asterisk. It's just the reality. I think everybody wins whenever the majors figure out a way to get the best players in the world there."

After digesting Gooch's comments, Barstool Sports reporter Dan Rapaport tweeted:

"Think there are 12 LIV guys in the field at Augusta. Roughly 20% of LIV is in the Masters. So what Talor Gooch really means is there’d be an asterisk on Rory’s win because Talor Gooch isn’t in the field."

Gooch, who won the the 2021 RSM Classic on the PGA Tour, saw Rapaport's tweet and quickly hit back to clarify what he meant.

If that's how I felt I would've said player not players*** Burmy, Louis, Mito, Carlos, HV, Kokrak, Leish, Abe etc etc etc.
Winning a major w/out some of the best in the world, while no less of an accomplishment, it is noteworthy. Fans/ majors/players-who benefits from not adding
— Talor Gooch (@TalorGooch) February 27, 2024

a path to majors through LIV? What if Puig and Surratt finish top10 and beat cam brooks Bryson this season, do fans benefit from not seeing them in majors? Lots of things the majors need to resolve for the fans/players. If you wanna know what I really mean^ Im always here to chat
— Talor Gooch (@TalorGooch) February 27, 2024

Gooch tweeted in response:

"If that's how I felt I would've said player not players*** Burmy, Louis, Mito, Carlos, HV, Kokrak, Leish, Abe etc etc etc. Winning a major w/out some of the best in the world, while no less of an accomplishment, it is noteworthy. Fans/ majors/players-who benefits from not adding a path to majors through LIV? What if Puig and Surratt finish top10 and beat cam brooks Bryson this season, do fans benefit from not seeing them in majors? Lots of things the majors need to resolve for the fans/players. If you wanna know what I really mean I'm always here to chat."

Data Golf also took a pop at Gooch.

Going forward we will be adding Gooch certificates to our major championship past results pages.
e.g. Brooks' 2023 PGA win is certified by Gooch's +10 performance. pic.twitter.com/lbgzqAP1wA
— data golf (@DataGolf) February 27, 2024

The brand cheekily tweeted:

"Going forward we will be adding Gooch certificates to our major championship past results pages. e.g. Brooks' 2023 PGA win is certified by Gooch's +10 performance."

Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley confirmed a special invite to The Masters for LIV Golf's Joaquin Niemann last week.

It should be noted Augusta did not mention Niemann's LIV Golf victory earlier this month though, and confirmed he was given his invite to The Masters as a result of winning the Australian Open last year.

Augusta National also invited two more international players in Thorbjorn Olesen and Ryo Hisatsune, who each earned their PGA Tour cards for this season through the DP World Tour Standings last season.

Olesen recently won in Ras Al Khaimah on the DP World Tour, while Hisatsune won the Open de France last season.

What do you make of Gooch's comments about The Masters? Should non-eligible LIV Golf players such as Gooch have been given an invite into the year's first major at Augusta National in April? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.

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